Q&A - dating

Question:  Do you think it was beneficial for you and Lincoln date other people before you got married?

In a word:  Yes.

I asked Lincoln what he thought...he agreed.  Yes.  Why?  Here are our top 3 reasons:

• Because we are now able to put our situations in perspective and know how "good we have it".  We would never know how lucky we are to have each other had we never experienced a relationship with anyone else. 
• It helps to smother that "is the grass greener somewhere else" question.  When times get tough (and they always will), we are able to be confident in the fact that we picked our spouse for a reason, and we know that we are happier with them than any other person.
• We were secure in several "must have's" before we entered into our relationship.  I knew mostly what I was and was not willing to accept from a mate and so did Lincoln.  We had both had one serious relationship and several "dating" relationships, so we had put up with, and been stepped on enough to know what we expected.  

On the flip side, I can see how it would be awesome to marry your first boyfriend.  You are each other's "first" everything!  How nice it would be to not have to compare yourself with anyone else.  How nice to know without a doubt that YOU were the one they saw that movie with, not some other girl - lol!  How nice to mature together and know first hand who your spouse was early on in their teenage years.  

Either way, I think the most important thing is that you are able to take YOUR life, YOUR situation, and YOUR marriage and live it to the fullest.